Engineering trooper claims commander assaulted him for forgetting to don his flak jacket during maneuver inside the Strip.

Yoav Zitun|Published: 03.09.14 , 23:38

Military police is investigating a complaint filed by an engineering combat soldier against a superior officer, who he claimed attacked him until he lost consciousness because he apparently forgot to wear his flak jacket during an operation deep in the Gaza Strip.

The soldier said the incident occurred inside an armored personnel carrier, claiming the commander beat him repeatedly in his torso, back, and head. According to the preliminary findings, a physical confrontation did take place – but the commander claimed it was not an assault.

Picture of soldier after alleged beating

The alleged victim said he suffered many bruises and strong headaches after the incident. He was evacuated shortly after from the Strip for treatment at the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelo.

According to a psychiatric evaluation conducted, the soldier was mentally traumatized by the incident; the doctor recommended he keep his distance from the commander. However, upon his return to the service, the soldier was placed in a role where he had no choice but to be in the commander's company.

The incident occurred inside Gaza, said the soldier, when he noticed the commander having a "wet wipe shower" inside the APC. The soldier said he followed suit, taking off his flak jacket to dry out, but fell asleep afterword.

He claimed he was woken by the commander jumping on his back and hitting him. "He grabbed me by the shirt, ripping it, and threw me on the APC's wall. I tried to escape but he kept hitting me until I lost consciousness and was evacuated by military ambulance to the hospital."

The soldier's lawyer released a statement: "We are unfortunately finding out that the army is not equipped to deal with such severe cases and it is unacceptable that a soldier beaten by his commander would return to service under the same command while a criminal investigation is ongoing."

Picture of soldier after alleged beating

Military sources, however, said the soldier was not under the direct command of the officer, and that the psychiatrist's recommendation has no weight beyond that "the soldier is known as being under the care of mental health professionals and is receiving the appropriate treatment."

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit released a statement: "An investigation was launched by the military's criminal investigation division – the majority of those involved in the incident have been investigated."

It should be noted that in other cases when combat soldiers broke operational commands inside the strip during Operation Protective Edge – like forgetting to wear the proper defensive gear – they received several days' suspension and were removed from the Strip.